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The 19th Platoon
The 19th Platoon of the Steam Reserve Corps 'is a division of the Steam Reserve Corps (SRC) during WWII. It is commanded by GWR Star class 4-6-0 Knight of St Patrick with his 2nd in command Aberporth Grange. They play a major role when Tobruk is taken by the allies with the 119th Platoon. This platoon is commonly known as '"The Great Western Platoon". Locomotives Knight of St Patrick (Commander) Knight of St Patrick is a GWR Star class that commands the 19th Platoon. He is persistent when another platoon's commander want his to stay behind and always keep Aberporth Grange from fighting with their allies. Bio Knight of St Patrick was built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Swindon Works in 1908 for express-passenger duties on the GWR mainlines. During the First World War, he spent most of his time racing across the mainlines with troop trains bound for the Western Front, until the war ended in November 1918, which lead to renewed peacetime service life. This however for he and his classmates was the case in the 1920s. Post-war traffic increased express services and lead to George Jackson Churchward's successor, Charles Benjamin Collett, to create a new class with the same chassis. The 1930s saw him renegaded to lighter duties due to the 4073 'Castle' class replacing them on the heavy express, even some of his brothers and sisters were rebuilt in Castles, and the outbreak of WWII. In 1940, Knight of St Patrick became a member of the Steam Reserve Corps and banded together a force filled with Great Western motive power (including WWI veteran Olivia) to form the 19th Platoon of the Steam Reserve Corps. The platoon saw action in only Africa and in the Middle East. During their time in Africa (1940-1943), they battled with Rommel's forces and often had defeats (most say Knight of St Patrick's lack of knowledge of the enemy), until re-enforced by the 119th Platoon, which had been pulled out of Asia in their battles with Japan. Both platoons worked together to recapture the port of Tobruk from "Desert Fox" and push them out of North Africa. During this time, Knight of St Patrick had to keep his 2nd in command (Aberporth Grange) under control and not screw up the operation. When the platoon was decommissioned by the Steam Reserve Corps in 1948, Knight of St Patrick lived a normal life running express trains on the former GWR network (displaying the final GWR livery) until he was withdrawn in 1950 from Chester shed and scrapped that year, even when the location is unknown. Livery In his only appearance, Knight of St Patrick is painted in GWR Green with "Shirtbutton' emblem on his tender. His number is plated on the cab and painted in yellow on his front buffer beam. Basis or real locomotive Knight of St Patrick is based off the real locomotive. It was one of 73 Star class locomotives built by the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works between 1906 to 1923, the same year No. 4073 'Caerphilly Castle' was built and spelled the end for the Star class. The first member of the design was in 1925 and the last wasn't retired until British Railways (BR) withdrew No. 4056 'Princess Margaret' in October 1957. Fifteen members of the class were also rebuilt into more powerful Castle class locomotives, but mostly retained their names and numbers. One member of the class is preserved, No. 4003 'Lode Star', and is a member of the first batch. It's a part of the UK National Collection and is on static display at STEAM: Museum of the Great Western Railway at Swindon. No 4013 'Knight of St Patrick was built in 1908 and scrapped by BR in 1950. Trivia Knight of St Patrick's model is a standard Hornby model with a re-crested tender to match the era. Knight of St Patrick is the only commander of the Steam Reserve Corps who has never seen any combat action in any war until 1940. He says that it was because of his name: "I'm a knight, and knights fight in combat." Knight of St Patrick is the only engine who knows how to keep Aberporth Grange at bay during a battle, even during arguments with other platoons. Aberporth Grange (2nd in command) '''Aberporth Grange '''is a GWR Grange class that is the 2nd in command of the 19th Platoon. He normally takes over the platoon when Knight of St Patrick is down to repairs from battle damage. He is also one of the most angriest members of the platoon and never questions his commander's leadership. Bio Aberporth Grange (known to everyone under the simplified name "Aberporth") was built in 1939 before the outbreak of WWII. Following trouble with troop movements and heavy air raids in 1940, Aberporth joined the Steam Reserve Corps, given the military rank 'private', trained by locomotives that served in the Great War and became the 2nd in command of the 19th Platoon, completely made of GWR locomotives (commander: Knight of St Patrick). Aberporth Grange worked with the 119th Platoon to take the port city of Tobruk in 1942, but opposed the platoon's commander for his age. After nearly compromising the mission, Aberporth became involved with bringing in troops into the city when Knight of St Patrick and Will broke through. Aberporth soon made amends with Will following their victory at Tobruk. After the platoon was disbanded in 1950, Aberporth was put on reserve until 1956 and was back to operating as a normal locomotive. In 1965, Aberporth was withdrawn by British Railways (BR) and scrapped that same year at Swindon. Appearances Mini Series 2010s * The Western Region legacy (mentioned, indirectly named) Stories from the Wars * Tobruk Basis or real locomotive Trivia Aberporth Grange's model is a Hornby GWR Grange class in GWR Green. Aberporth Grange is once (accidently) called 'Aberport Grange' by Lizzie in 2016. Category:Tender locomotives Category:Tank locomotives Category:Scrapped Category:Preserved Category:Ex-GWR